The stretch of Broadway between Flushing Avenue and Myrtle Avenue, which has no shortage of hair and nail salons, bodegas, and 99c stores, is not known for its plethora of places to get a drink, aside from Beauty Bar. But across the street, just a few doors down from Cholulita, Divine Café is now open for business — and the community’s suggestions.
Owner Larry Golb, who lives in the neighborhood, describes Divine as a bar, café, and restaurant, and felt a need in this part of Bushwick, where takeout is the norm (Tiki Hut tried its hand at grilling but lost). He’s hardly presenting a finished product, however, because he wants to shape the place according to what patrons want.
Catering to everyone, initially, “was the only way I could intelligently come up with something,” Golb says, citing a first-draft menu that includes American, Mexican, and Spanish fare, all made to order by a Dominican-Mexican cook.
“The neighborhood’s changing, and there’s a lot of different groups, so we thought we’d try to cater to everybody, just to see what group is going to be the dominant group,” Golb says. “Depending on what the community wants in this particular area, we would expand on whatever that situation was.”
Divine’s menu includes everything from burgers, onion rings, and fried calamari to shrimp cocktail, nachos, and house salads, to grilled chicken breast, rice and beans, and breaded tilapia. Most of the menu items are in the $1 to $8 range, while house specialties range from $9 to $17 for grilled skirt steak. Beers are $3 or $4. Delivery is available.
Café manager Danny Andon says he wants to make sure his customers are happy. “If customers have any comments or complaints, anything positive or negative, we would love to hear from them.”
Andon says he’s got everything from Dominican and Puerto Rican rums and Mexican tequilas to Hennessey cognac, Malibu flavored rum, and Jack Daniels whiskey behind the bar. There’s no skimping on size or quality when it comes to the mixed drinks ($7 to $10), he says: “When we make a Long Island Iced Tea, we make a Looooong Island Iced Tea.” There are also happy hour specials on weeknights, including $4 wells and $18 beer buckets. Divine plans to make its own infusion vodkas and tequilas, as soon as it gets the OK from the health department.
Behind Divine’s tinted glass façade, the décor is nothing fancy; red walls, dark wooden tables and chairs, and a nice long bar top. There are TV screens for showing sports events, a jukebox, and a stereo system, but the vibe is up to customers. “What do you want — DJs, karaoke, a theme night, even an old movie night? Do people want to hear 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, or Spanish? Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter,” Golb says.
Right now, Divine’s hours are 3pm to 2am Monday to Thursday, 1pm to 4am Friday and Saturday, and 1pm to 2am Sunday. It all depends on what customers want. “I could stay open til 4am every day, as long as there’s a demand,” Golb says. “Any support from the community would be greatly appreciated.”



SERIOUSLY?! May 27th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
who cares
Professional Alternative May 27th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Haven’t seen a concept so bad since Tiki Hut. That was too niche, this is too broad. This comes off as a guy just opening a place to make money any way he can. The problem is, everyone sees through it and like many other similar places in the neighborhood opened by certain types for communities they don’t understand, it will go out of business or turn into a Dominican nightclub.
maria rojas May 27th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Im sooo happie that Bushwick is picking…I live in Flushing Ave/Bushwick for very long, my children all grown and I decided to move to Florida. Im going to pass the word to my friends when they go visit New York/or go home…Nice..
Christian May 31st, 2011 at 11:14 am
Trying to everything to everyone doesnt sound like a good plan.
Pick an angle (i think professionally, its called a business plan) and work that angle.
khaki May 31st, 2011 at 11:23 am
PROFESSIONAL ALTERNATIVE
Diana June 9th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
I agree with all the comments, you have to pick an angle soon, if you haven’t already and then stick to it. You will naturally make changes as your business grows to accommodate popular requests etc..however choose an angle and make that your signature. Take a tip from Athom Cafe! not too far from you, they are still in business and doing well, but Athom Cafe had a plan.
Tom June 17th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
I have to say that it sucks that people are so snarky on this blog. I understand–this is how it always is on every blog comment section. It’s so easy to fart from one’s armchair on anything new or ambitious that someone tries. But I tip my hat to Larry Golb for trying to absorb and reflect the needs and wants and desires of his community. Sure, it’s nice to have a visionary who opens something with a very, very distinct set of principles and directives in mind. Mr. Golb’s directive: “Depending on what the community wants in this particular area, we would expand on whatever that situation was.” That sounds a lot like democracy to me…to try to represent the community in whatever way or capacity one can. Maybe it’s a terrible business model, but in a place like Bushwick, it could, one hopes, work. I’ll take community-driven business models over blunt assertions of coolness anyday. I should go soon, happy hour at the Divine starts soon…